The older I get, the more my eyes are open to the value and beauty in my relationships with others. They are the most simplest and yet most important pleasures in life. Being open to loving others and being loved is a gift we give to others, as well as ourselves.I have just watched the news and my heart breaks for what has happened, another massive shooting, more gun violence. This hatred and lack of value for human life is a concept I do not understand, and find so hard to accept. Innocent lives of contributors, people loved by others, taken from this world too soon, too violently. The diversity of our friends, neighbors, co-workers and loved ones make our community and our world so unique and so beautiful. It is by our being together, learning and growing from and with each other that makes us stronger, better.

Today, make an effort in your office to get to know someone you may not have interacted with before. Smile at passersby on the street or in places you visit. Look to find their strengths, to brighten their day, to encourage them.

Please, let us focus today on looking to find the goodness that is within and around us.

“The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.”
– a beautiful quote by Morrie Schwartz